Meet the Members – Balaji Chakaravarthi

How long have you been doing angel investments and how do you do it? I have been involved in angel investing for past 10 years in terms of capital investment and started being advisor and mentor for start-ups for 1.5 years.

How did you get into it? My background is in healthcare and I am especially interested in MedTech. Started Angel Investing to support couple of friends, who ventured into entrepreneurship. With recent fast growing start-up scene and vibrant eco-system in Singapore, I decide to be more involved in investing in Healthcare start-ups as an angel and advisor to contribute my expertise.

What were you doing before? I have been working in health care industry for over 25 years. As the APAC business head and part of senior leadership team of a large multinational, I had great opportunities to be exposed to global developments and new technologies in this field. Now I have set up my own strategic consultancy firm after I left the corporate position.

What sectors do you like? I am a fan of MedTech, with interest in IT and tech with slant towards healthcare.

What are the key criteria when you look at an opportunity? Firstly, I will assess if the company’s solution is unique and scalable in the market. How big is the market size? How strong is the management team? What is its track record? How much value can it bring back to health care industry? Is now the right timing for the solution?

Where do you find your opportunities? In addition to BANSEA and my network of contacts, I find some ideas from the accelerators, research institutions, such as ASTAR, NTU.

What is the main challenge in this activity? Angel investing has higher risk than most investment channels because it consists of many subjective decisions. Therefore, it is essential to structure our thinking process and make proper qualitative assessment.

Tell us your memorable experience or success story. I have started mentoring a company recently with proven technology but small turnover. After undertaking my advices to improve its commercial strategies, the company has gained traction and at the verge of closing a 10 Million plus funding round!

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